1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an electronic device that operates according to commands sent from a computer, a control method for the electronic device, and a recording medium on which instructions for executing the control method are carried.
2. Related Art
Various types of printers and other electronic devices can be connected to a host computer such as a personal computer, and the command language used by the host computer to control such electronic devices typically differs according to the model or type of device. It is also increasingly common for plural host computers to share a single electronic device, such as when plural host computers and plural printers are connected to a network. Normally, the command system of the commands output by each host computer match the requirements of the specific electronic device being addressed. In this type of networked environment, however, a connected electronic device may not be compatible with the command system used by the host computer, and the command system must be changed on the host computer side. Japanese Unexamined Patent Appl. Pub. JP-A-H08-123639 therefore teaches an electronic device that supports a plurality of command systems and can switch between command languages as instructed by the host computer.
The command systems used by the host computer according to the related art may include command systems that do not enable the electronic device being controlled to switch between plural command languages. When the host computer switches to such a command system, the host computer cannot output a command causing the electronic device to change to another command system. Switching to another command system must therefore be done on the electronic device side. This requires operator intervention to manually change the command system by, for example, turning the electronic device off, resetting a particular switch, and then turning the power on again. This switching operation is both bothersome and error-prone. More specifically, when a conventional command system that does not define a function for switching to a different command system is used, switching to another command system cannot be done easily.